HSK 1 · Lesson 1你好！ Hello!
Greetings, thanks, apologies and goodbyes. The pronouns “I”, “you”, “he”, “she”.
Speed:Male voice:
Dialogues
Meeting
A
你好！
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
B
你好！
Nǐ hǎo!
Hello!
A
老师好！
Lǎoshī hǎo!
Hello, teacher!
B
你们好！
Nǐmen hǎo!
Hello, everyone!
Thanks and sorry
A
谢谢你！
Xièxie nǐ!
Thank you!
B
不客气。
Bú kèqi.
You’re welcome.
A
对不起！
Duìbuqǐ!
Sorry!
B
没关系。再见！
Méi guānxi. Zàijiàn!
That’s all right. Goodbye!
A
再见！
Zàijiàn!
Goodbye!
New words
- 你nǐyou (informal, as opposed to courteous 您)
- 好hǎogood; appropriate; proper
- 您nínyou (courteous, as opposed to informal 你)
- 你们nǐmenyou (plural)
- 我wǒI; me; my
- 我们wǒmenwe; us; ourselves
- 他tā(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his
- 她tāshe
- 他们tāmenthey; them
- 老师lǎoshīteacher
- 谢谢xièxieto thank; thanks; thank you
- 不客气bú kèqiyou're welcome; don't mention it; impolite
- 对不起duìbuqǐI'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon
- 没关系méi guānxiit doesn't matter
- 再见zàijiàngoodbye
- 你好nǐhǎohello
- 们menplural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals
Grammar
1. Greeting: X + 好
person + 好！
The basic greeting is 你好, literally “you good”. Replace 你 with whoever you greet: 老师好 “hello, teacher”, 你们好 “hello, everyone”. The polite “you” for one person is 您: 您好.
您好！
Nín hǎo!
Hello! (polite)
同学们好！
Tóngxuémen hǎo!
Hello, students!
2. Pronouns and 们
我 I, 你 you, 他 he, 她 she (both sound tā). Plural — add 们: 我们 we, 你们 you (plural), 他们 they. Pronouns never change form: 我 is both “I” and “me”.
我们好！
Wǒmen hǎo!
We are fine!
谢谢你们！
Xièxie nǐmen!
Thank you all!
Exercises
1. Respond
- 谢谢！
Answer
不客气。Bú kèqi. - 对不起！
Answer
没关系。Méi guānxi. - 你好！
Answer
你好！Nǐ hǎo! - 再见！
Answer
再见！Zàijiàn!
2. Translate into Chinese
- Hello, teacher!
Answer
老师好！Lǎoshī hǎo! - Thank you, everyone!
Answer
谢谢你们！Xièxie nǐmen! - they
Answer
他们 tāmen
💡 Did you know?: Greetings in China
Between friends 你好 can sound formal; people often say 嗨 hāi or just the name. Instead of “how are you?” you may hear 吃了吗？ “Have you eaten?” — simply a friendly greeting.
Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).